Gas vs. Diesel

**Gentoo** · 04-20-09, 01:42

What do you think will be more available / useful overall?

I'm looking to get another vehicle and can choose from either. (4x4 SUV)

**Mr.Goodtimes** · 04-20-09, 23:16

im biased lol, im a diesel guy

a diesel vehicle is the better way to go in my opinion, better gas mileage, lasts longer, more power. theres nothing not to like, except that (around here anyway) its a little more then gasoline.

im in college right now, so, funds are a little tight, i drive an old ranger, its got the three liter v6 in it, and its been great. 240,000 miles on her and she still cranks right up every morning, and runs like a champ.

when i finish my degree and am in the military, i want to get what my dad has, a dodge 3500 dually (cummins of course). his is an 08 with the 6.7L in it and a bully dog tuner, and we removed the diesel particulate filter. the truck will do four wheel drive burnouts up into third gear, its pretty sick. i feel like thats a pretty good shtf truck.

the nice thing about diesels too is that, theyll run on damn near anything combustable; so when the diesel runs out theres alternatives.

**Mac5.56** · 04-20-09, 23:55

Look for the movie "The Coconut Revolution", it will answer this question if you really want to know what is the most adaptable to a complete breakdown of industrial infrastructure.

**RWBlue** · 04-21-09, 20:47

Drove a Diesel for a while. I currently have a gas vehicle.

Gas is quicker off the line.
Diesel was more expensive to work on and alot dirtier.
For serious mud, I think gas would be better (quicker punch).
For commming fuel issues, I think diesel would be better (biodeisel).

Someone will have to run the milages vs. fuel cost numbers. I think they are pricing fuel so that the price per mile are very close.

All told, I think it depends on the vehicle. I am thinking about camper purchase and I am thinking diesel might be better for this function, but my daily driver I like gas.

**randolph** · 04-22-09, 05:32

dont confuse modern diesel engines with the diesel engines of days gone by.
or worse, dont confuse good ol' #2 with ULSD, they aint the same.

The days of pouring "casenhead" into your tank and driving off are gone, modern diesel engines are more finiky than gas engines.

**EzGoingKev** · 04-22-09, 09:41

If you are buying a brand new truck and are not buying something they have marked down because they really want to get rid of it, a diesel engine adds between $8k and $13k to the cost of the truck which means higher sales tax on it and insurance.

**LOKNLOD** · 04-22-09, 10:24

Overall, I think gas is your better bet. Especially if you're buying a modern vehicle. All the theoretical advantages of diesel aren't going to be found in an widely available vehicle.

For one, the selection of 4x4 SUVs available in diesel is very limited. A quick check at Edmunds.com shows 4 currently available: A BMW, 2 Benzes, and a VW. All of which are made to let your trophy wife haul your overscheduled kids to soccer practice, not your gear to a bug-out location. High priced, high maintenance, overly complex and not really built for serious off-road use.

If you step back in time a bit, some recent diesel SUVs on the market might be a Jeep Liberty (blah) or the one recent contender I might consider, a '00-'05 Ford Excursion (yeah, the big-ass Super Duty SUV). They had the 7.3L from 00 to 03 and then the 6.0 from '03 to '05. The 7.3L is noiser and has less power but I remember there were some teething issues with the 6.0s. The 7.3s have a pretty solid reputation and they were used for quite a while so parts availability might be better -- there have been a lot of them on the road. It'll probably be hard to find a good low-mileage diesel Excursion for sale, though.

The Excursion might work for a spare, seldom driven SHTF rig type vehicle. I don't think it would be a good choice at all for a SHTF-ready daily driver, unless you're really dedicated to the concept with your head, ass, heart, and wallet.

Gas all the way. Fuel availabilty, parts availability, and in current production vehicles, reliability, are all plusses for the gas motor SUVs -- if you choose the right one.

Depending on your needs for how much crap you need to haul, a mid-size gas SUV would be a better bet for a prepared daily driver. Toyota 4-runner or FJ Cruiser, Nissan X-Terra or Pathfinder, or even a 4-door Tacoma or Frontier pickup with a camper shell or hard tonneau cover (either of which basically converts it to a SUV with a divided cargo area, pretty versatile). All of those are manueverable, have good off-road ability, durable, reliable, plenty of power, and are relatively fuel efficient (your mileage may vary...literally

)

I think about the perfect daily driver SHTF vehicle would be an '01-'04 4-door Tacoma with the off-road package. Camper shell optional. The 3.4 V6 is very reliable (shop for one and see how many are out there running around with 200k+ miles and still going), the truck is very capable off-road, on-road manners are fine, it's inconspicous, there are many on the road so long term parts scavenging possiblilties are good, they've got pretty solid payload capacity for their size, and there are lots of aftermarket options to customize to your needs without having to engineer and build from scratch.

**GlockWRX** · 04-22-09, 11:48

There are limited choices in diesel SUV's. And the ones that are available are not really meant for strenuous off-road use. They are also much more expensive.

For any amount of off-road use, diesels have a bit of a disadvantage because the engines are much heavier than their gas counterparts.

To get a diesel in a vehicle suitable for off-road use, you have to get a pickup from Ford, Dodge, or GM. While each has it's pro's and con's, they are all much more powerful than any gas engine available. But that power is not usefull unless you are towing or hauling. I use a GMC 1 ton diesel to tow my 13,000 lb 5th wheel. They are also about $7k more expensive than the same truck with a V8.

Overall, I think unleaded gas is more widely available. In cities and urban areas, not every station has diesel. Most rural stations do have diesel for farmers and ranchers.

If I was going to select a 4wd vehicle for general off-road use, my top two choices would be a Tacoma or a Jeep Wrangler. I prefer pickups because of their higher cargo capacities.